Raaga 
Sundar
About
Hi, I’m Raaga Sundar. I study Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science at Georgia Tech, and I spend most of my time building things that fly and the software behind them.
I’m an undergraduate researcher at the Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory (ASDL), through June 2026. My work runs from novel aircraft concepts and composite life prediction to 3D printed structures for Martian rovers, with a paper accepted to ICAS 2026.
I also work aerodynamics for GT Motorsports and CFD for the Yellow Jacket Space Program, and I’m co-founding a stealth startup building sub-55 lb supersonic aerial targets for the Boom Supersonic Prize.
If you’re building something ambitious, reach out.
Achievements
- Experience
- Education
- Projects & Publications
- Co-Founder and Lead Drone Pilot, HOVER Aerial Cinematography
May 2023 to Jan 2026, Atlanta GA. Built and ran a commercial aerial photo and video service end to end: FAA-compliant flight planning, capture, editing, and client delivery across dozens of repeat client shoots for real estate, marketing, and events, including indoor-to-outdoor sequences. - Undergraduate Researcher, ASDL @ Georgia Tech
Jan 2026 to Jun 2026, Atlanta GA. Only undergrad on a graduate Grand Challenges team of five (with RIC Enterprises). Builds cost and feasibility models and supports CAD, FEA, and ESP simulation for a confidential next generation system. Co-authored the accepted ICAS 2026 paper, and extended the economic models into commercialization pathways and IP strategy under NDA. - Aerospace Specialist, Aerodynamics, GT Motorsports
Aug 2026 to Present, Atlanta GA. Led assembly of the pedal box for the Formula SAE car, then moved to aerodynamics to apply CFD and aerospace design to the aero package. - CFD Specialist, Yellow Jacket Space Program
Aug 2026 to Present, Atlanta GA. Building and validating a STAR-CCM+ model of the Vespula engine’s LOx injector manifold to measure injector-to-injector mass flow and recommend a fix for flow uniformity. - Content Creator, @byraagaz
Mar 2026 to Present. Independent hardware and engineering content, 6K+ followers. Secured a $10K brand partnership with Flux, an AI-assisted PCB design platform, plus a year of software access. - Georgia Tech, B.S. Aerospace Engineering, Minor in CS
Aug 2025 to Present
McIntosh High School, Salutatorian
2021-2025 - Modeling & Preliminary Analysis of an Ecofriendly Airborne Global Luxury Ekranoplan
Accepted, publishing in ICAS 2026
Co-authors: R. Sundar, M. Sankrithi, D. Mavris. A ground effect luxury airliner design and preliminary performance study. - MSRCF, Manufacture to Service Risk Continuity Framework
A Python framework that unifies manufacturing complexity and in service damage prediction for aerospace CFRP composites into one Risk Continuity Score. Benchmarks 5 ML classifiers, adds conformal prediction, Monte Carlo uncertainty bands, and SHAP explainability, and forecasts remaining useful life. github.com/RaagaSundar/MSRCF - 3D-Printed AA6061 for Martian Rover Bodies
Independent study benchmarked against NASA Perseverance. Ran Fusion 360 and ANSYS simulations of FDM AA6061 under Martian loads. Found 80% infill optimal, with near equal strength, 5% lighter, and up to $1.5B cheaper per mission. Mentored by MIT and GT PhDs.
W O R K
VECTOR
In progress
A thrust vector control model rocket with an onboard vision system that autonomously picks its own landing site during descent. Terrain relative navigation at hobby scale, similar in spirit to how Perseverance chose its Mars landing zone.
Built around a TVC gimbal and flight computer for active stabilization during boost, with a custom fiberglass reinforced airframe, laser cut G10 fins, and a 3D printed nose cone, plus GPS guided parafoil recovery on descent. Being built for a rocketry competition and documented as content.
Sting
An interceptor drone. Sting is a counter drone defense concept spanning software and hardware. The software layer combines RF signal detection with autonomous swarm response modeling to flag and react to hostile drone activity.
The hardware layer is a physical interceptor quadcopter, custom built with an onboard companion computer running computer vision for real time target tracking, paired with a flight controller and pursuit logic that lets it autonomously chase and close on a target drone.
Supersonic Aerial Target Vehicle
In progress
Co-founding a stealth startup building sub-55 lb, air-breathing supersonic target vehicles that mimic enemy weapon profiles for air-defense testing.
The team is competing for the $750K Boom Supersonic Prize, awarded to the first team past Mach 1 in level flight.
Iron Man Arm
In progress
A motorized Iron Man arm built from scratch on an Arduino Nano ESP32. It has a wrist rotation servo, a repulsor LED effect, and a spring loaded missile bay with dual servos for the door and the launch.
I started from an open source servo control base, stripped it down to arm only functionality, then rewrote the firmware for ESP32 hardware since the original library only supported AVR chips. Fully wired, soldered, and working end to end.
Zaran
A counter swarm drone defense system built as a full working pipeline. Multi sensor fusion feeds a PPO reinforcement learning agent that runs a full monitor, jam, intercept, and kill chain.
Adversarial swarm coordination with decoy discrimination hits a 100 percent intercept rate across evaluation runs, and a real RF signal classifier trained on physical RF data hits 99.3 percent accuracy on drone type classification. All of it feeds a live tactical ops dashboard that streams the agent’s actual decisions in real time.
AegisSwarm
An early counter swarm simulator, and the first version of the swarm defense idea that later grew into Zaran.
Y Combinator Startup School 2026
Hand-selected for the Y Combinator Startup School 2026 cohort, alongside NeurIPS authors, Olympiad medalists, and builders from MIT, Stanford, and Harvard.
Georgia State Representative, Invention Convention Worldwide
Selected to represent the state of Georgia at Invention Convention Worldwide, the national K-12 invention and entrepreneurship program presented by RTX. Advanced through school, regional, and state rounds, with entries judged on the originality of the invention, the engineering behind it, and its real-world potential.
1st Place, State Finals, K-12 InVenture Prize
Took first place at the state finals of the K-12 InVenture Prize, Georgia Tech’s statewide invention competition, where entries are judged on originality, technical execution, and real-world viability. Also earned the $1,000 IronCAD Expertise in CAD Modeling Award for the quality of the 3D design and engineering work behind the build.
STEMUp Business Startup Grant
Awarded an $800 STEMUp grant from United Way to fund a student-led venture, supporting early prototyping and launch costs. Selected on the strength of the idea, its feasibility, and a pitched plan for bringing it to market.
3rd Place, National Advanced Division, UAS4STEM 2024
Placed third in the nation in the Advanced Division of UAS4STEM, a competition built around designing, building, and autonomously flying a mission-capable drone. The result earned the team a $10,000 Airbus sponsorship.
As Chief Engineer, Lead Safety Officer, and Video Analyst for McIntosh Aeronautics, I owned the airframe design and build, ran pre-flight safety and checklists, and reviewed flight footage to sharpen each mission.
Governor’s Honors Program
Selected for Georgia’s Governor’s Honors Program in Mechanical Design Engineering and Mathematics, a competitive statewide program for top high school students. Earned a place through multiple rounds of interviews and technical evaluation.
1st Place, International Advanced Division, UAS4STEM 2023
Won first place in the international Advanced Division of UAS4STEM, taking the top spot among teams competing on autonomous drone missions and earning a $10,000 Airbus sponsorship.
Led McIntosh Aeronautics as Chief Engineer, Lead Safety Officer, and Video Analyst, responsible for the aircraft itself, flight safety, and the post-flight analysis that improved our runs.
Certificate of Superior Creativity and Design Thinking
Recognized by the Georgia Tech Research Institute at the STEM@GTRI STEAM Challenge for the most creative and well-reasoned solution among participating teams, awarded for the design-thinking approach taken to an open-ended engineering problem.
1st Place, National Taekwondo Sparring
National sparring champion under the World Taekwondo Federation and a 2nd Degree Black Belt. Years of training built the discipline, focus, and composure under pressure that carry straight into how I approach engineering.
Top Skills
The tools and methods I reach for most.
- Ultimaker Cura
- Statistical Analysis
- Machine Learning
- CAD, FEA, SolidWorks, ANSYS
- UAS/UAV, ArduPilot, Systems Engineering
- 3D Printing, Machining, Soldering
- Python, C++, MATLAB, Java, JavaScript, HTML/CSS, Git
- XGBoost, SVM, PPO, SHAP, Reinforcement Learning
- Multi-Agent Systems, Swarm Coordination, Motion Planning
- Task Allocation, Sensor Fusion, C-UAS
- Economic Feasibility, Financial Modeling, Commercialization
Languages
- English (Native or Bilingual)
- Tamil (Native or Bilingual)
- Spanish (Limited Working)
my own
reality
my own
reality